[Greenbuilding] suspended slab

[Bruce Donelson]

If the floors are cold it may be because they are uninsulated. If he tries
to heat that slab with his water heater, he will only get 95% of the
electrical efficiency out of it, unless it is gas fired.
If he uses a heat pump, it will give him twice as much heat per watt, and
even under worst case conditions will never fall to as low an efficiency as
an electric water heater. People here in Oregon who heat that way usually
have high heat bills.
Bruce Donelson

A friend of mine recently moved into an existing house with slab on grade
floors in the main living space... and of course the floors are cold. He
looked at the Radiant Floor website (see below) and thinks the suspended
slab installation is for him since if he uses the new concrete as his
finished floor he will only loose 1 1/2" head room. He also assumes that he
will be able to heat the space off of his domestic hot water heater. BTW, He
lives in the washington DC area. Does anyone have experience with this type
of system or know if they work well and are worth the investment?